Article Writing – How To Do It Right

Article writing is something that everyone thinks they can do. Anytime I visit Internet marketing forum, article marketing is cited as the best way to start your online ventures. And although the principle of article marketing – and article writing – is simple, writing an article that people actually want to read is hard work! Well, for me it is, although I know that there are people to whom writing comes naturally. But for the rest of us… it can be quite a pain.

There are a lot of steps that need to be taken to create a good article. Some people find article writing so difficult they hire people to do it for them. In fact, I outsource articles myself, especially when I really want an engaging and factual article for a niche I am not all that familiar with.

Do not worry if you cannot afford to do this. With just a few tips and tricks you can learn how to improve your writing skills. Article writing is, simply, one of those skills that every internet marketer needs to master. Even with the popularity of video, you still need to communicate the right message and use the right words. You simply need to be able to write at least a basic informative article if you ever want to find success at making money online. OK, enough of why you need it, let’s how a look how to get there – that is, how to write better articles.

Do your research ahead of time. In fact, research should be the first thing you do after you decide to write anything at all. After you learn about your topic it is easier to write an outline and then to put what you have learned onto the page. Research is not difficult and there is no excuse for flaking this step. Thanks to search engines and libraries you should be able to find more than enough information on the topic you have chosen to write about.

Learn everything you can about your topic. Once you have amassed a working knowledge of your topic sit down to write. It is easier to write after learning something than it is to try to write as you are learning something. Now, this is where I am lacking too. Some of the niches are simpler to learn than others. Just remember, every time you write an article, it should contain some info you did not know previously. This way, you can combine your article marketing and article writing with actual learning.

Do not ever copy anybody else’s work. Copying the work someone else has done and trying to pass it off as your own is a terrible thing to do. I had several articles copied, without giving any credit to me, or any links to my site. Sooner or later, it will happen to you too. Not much you can do about it, other than trying to force the offender to remove the article. But just don’t do it yourself! It is bad for your business if you ever get caught and in today’s market. There may be no law suit, or penalty, but it is your reputation that is on the line. And with instruments like Copyscape, or just basic Google search, getting caught is not a matter of “if” it is a matter of “when.” But even though most infringement cases never end up in court, don’t think, that it never happens, or that it can never happen to you. Plagiarism could indeed get you into a lot of legal trouble and, beyond that; it makes you look like a fraud when people find out what you have done. It does not matter how busy you are or how little time you have for writing, make sure your content is your own!

Write more than one draft of your article. After you have done your spell check and grammar check, go back through your article and look for mistakes or areas of improvement. Never publish a first draft. You want to go through your article at least twice before you submit it for publication (this is third time I am reading and editing this article . You might even want to get someone else to take a look at your article to get some fresh eyes on it before you submit it.

Of course, in order for all the above to be effective, you need to actually write a good article. In other words, you need to use the right words, the right tone, the right headlines… Well, let’s break it down a bit, shall we?

Headlines are scary for a reason. Your headlines are what will turn your site viewer into a reader or turn them away completely. Most beginning copywriters take the “louder is better” approach to headline writing. They use a lot of exclamation points and bold fonts to cover up the fact that their headline isn’t anything special. Of course, if you have a loyal audience, even a bad headline will still work. But you also want to gain new readers, right? So yeah, headline is still very important.

A good headline will grab the reader’s attention, entertain him for a minute and describe what you are about to tell him. That’s a large order for just a few words. I usually try to study the headlines of your competitors. The problem is, I don’t know if they work for them, I do not have any statistics. So all I can do is to test and see what works for me. Both, when I am the writer, and when I am the reader.

In other words, I know what turns me off?, so I do not use it. Well, maybe once or twice, just to test it (after all, just because something dos not work for me does not mean it won’t work for others). And, of course, when something grabs my attention, I try to use it on my own article (but NEVER use it as is, always make it your own – see above about plagiarism). Oh, and keep track of these things and use this knowledge when you create your own headlines. A little swipe file will go a long way and help you enormously, both in terms of ideas and time saving.

Break up your copy. You were probably taught in school that a paragraph has to center around a single thought. This is true. It is also true that one single thought does not need to be contained in a single paragraph. Web readers are turned off by huge blocks of text.

Break up those huge paragraphs into smaller blocks. In copywriting for the web it is okay to have a paragraph that is only a sentence or two. It helps the reader stay focused on the message.

Place a headline into the text to help separate the ideas. A bold headline in a bigger font that describes the next section of text is a great way to switch selling tactics in the middle of a page without confusing the reader. It also allows the reader to skim over the page without having to read every single word. This is how most site viewers decide if they want to read the body of the page or if they want to click on to someone else’s offer.

Copywriting is an art form that people work for years to master. It looks easy on the surface because professional copywriters are very good at what they do. But there is no shortcut and you will go through some pain, disappointments, creativity problems – just like the copywriters whose copy you admire did.

You must pay your dues because learning how to write good articles is important if you ever want to make money online. Knowing how to write well can help you in pretty much every area of your life, even outside of your business! Learning how to be a better writer takes some time but it is time well spent. So arm yourself with patience and dedication, and let’s get some writing done.

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